WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Mandalorian Chapter 5, "The Gunslinger," streaming now on Disney+.
The Mandalorian's latest episode had quite a bit of fan service as "The Gunslinger" took Star Wars fans back to Tatooine. We saw hot spots like the Mos Eisley Cantina, the seedy tavern from A New Hope; the planet's twin suns Luke Skywalker so often looked at; and, lastly, Toro Calican (Jake Cannavale) basically being a wannabe Han Solo with an upgraded blaster.
But while it's a nostalgic trip, there's one massive Easter egg the series missed out on which would have tied perfectly into the show's title -- the Sarlacc Pit where Boba Fett died.
This pit was made famous in 1983's Return of the Jedi when Jabba the Hutt took Luke Skywalker there to be executed out in the sandy dunes of the planet. We'd see a full-scale rebellion in the desert as Luke, Leia and Co. fought for their freedom, which eventually ended with Leia choking Jabba to death with her slave chains. In the melee, Boba fell into the pit at Carkoon where he'd slowly be digested over a thousand years. While Legends lore had him surviving the ordeal, in Disney canon, Boba's considered dead.
This is why this location would have made a brilliant pit-stop, no pun intended, for Pedro Pascal's Mando. It not seizing the easy opportunity, the show misses out on a tribute which wouldn't have just been a fanboy moment, it would actually have added a lot more nuance to the narrative at hand. It'd be no surprise to find out Boba was a legend in Mandalorian culture, so Mando could have arrived there for a sentimental moment, to pay homage to someone who paved the way for the title character's kind to have a reputation as the fiercest bounty hunters in the galaxy.
It would have framed Boba as someone with mystique and show reverence to him the same way fans do in the real-world, regarding the jet-pack-wielding shooter as a cult character. "This is the way," is his adopted culture's mantra, after all, and whether or not they like each other, there's a deep-seated respect within the fraternity, so watching Mando admiring the shrine or even looking into the pit as a grave he'd never want to be in would really speak to the wars his warrior-brethren seek out on a daily basis.
In fact, the pit could have been given even deeper meaning as a spot where Mandalorians hide certain, let's say, emergency packs with weapons or food or comms, in case one of them needs such. And in Mando's case, seeing as he was in need of tools to help round up Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen), this would effectively have had a Force ghost effect with Boba helping him from the afterlife by being this symbol of unity. Most of all, this twist would have brought the show full-circle because Boba's the one who really made the Mandalorian popular in the mainstream eye. Even Mando arriving there on Tatooine would have been calculated rather than just him being shot down as he'd have known of the secrets of the pit, making the location just as much a character as the Dagobah Caves were.
That said, it's mystifying why the series would explore this planet and ignore this spot where the most iconic, honorary Mandalorian made his final stand. It's a well where Mando would have drawn a sense of fear, as well as a reminder to let his fighting spirit triumph over mortality from. Not to mention there must surely be tales out there about Boba, and his father, Jango, who went through life in a similar Lone Wolf and Cub setup as Mando and Baby Yoda.
Simply put, the serendipity is wasted, as well as the philosophy of the Mandalorian helmet and its culture, and lastly, the fact that no Mandalorian does things by coincidence. It's not luck at all, it's all calculated, but for some reason, showrunner Jon Favreau and his creative team forgot about Boba and instead turned the methodical Mando into a tourist who was down on his luck, wandering around without a clue.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte. A new episode arrives each Friday on Disney+.